On the 5th of May 2015, the Transports and Tourism (TRAN) Committee of the European Parliament should start the examination of the Port Services Regulation, presented by the European Commission on May 23rd, 2013. This proposal introduces the application of the “freedom of services” principle to ports services, including pilotage.

Ships have been plying the world’s oceans for thousands of years; Mesopotamia is believed to be one of the earliest civilizations to spread trade through the known world via ships. Navigating ships across a sea, however, was entirely separate from entering confined channels, fairways and harbors where the already risk filled enterprise became nearly impossible to complete without mishap or disaster. This was due to the fact that the captain of the ship most certainly did not have nearly enough expertise in any number of the local harbors and waterways where trade required the ship go.This immediately lead captains of trading vessels to seek out local mariners (usually fishermen) to assist them in bringing the ship safely into harbor, thus the job of pilot entered into the ancient world. Certainly the Babylonian’s had codified laws relating to Pilots and Piloting. The first laws governing European pilotage are believed to be from the rein of King Richard I of England in the late 1100’s. So it continued through the great Ottoman, Venetian, etc. empires to the present day.

The European Maritime Pilots’ Association (EMPA) represents about 5.000 maritime pilots from 25 European countries.

In cooperation with the Nautical Institute, EMPA on Friday the 28th of March organized a seminar about the use of Voyage Data Recorders (VDR’s) in the maritime industry. Key speakers from accident investigation agencies, the airline industry, maritime insurance, maritime pilots and maritime lawyers discussed the current practice in the use of VDR data.